Bench tool for sheet metal bending

ABSTRACT

A rectangular top plate, a rectangular bottom plate and a rectangular spacer plate are secured together by rivets or spot welding to produce four bending slots, the walls of which along the two sides of each slot vary in width. The tool thus has the facility of producing a short or a long flange from an edge of a piece of work with said flange having any selected one of four widths.

llmte States Patent 1 1 1111 3,848,454

Hall Nov. 19, 1974 BENCH TOOL FOR SHEET METAL 1,361,311 12/1920 DeLaPena 72 477 BENDING 2,144,204 H1939 Stringfield 72/461 2,166,347 7/1939 Farney 72/461 [76] Inventor: Harry H- Hall, 86 E. 26th San 3,352,466 11/1967 McAllister 33/107 R Bernardino, Calif. 92404 [22 Filed; Oct 11, 1973 I Primary Examiner-Richard J. Herbst [211 App]. N0.I 405,397

[57] ABSTRACT [52] CL 72/457 72/477 A rectangular top plate, a rectangular bottom plate [51] Int (1mm BZId 5/16 and a rectangular spacer plate are secured together by 58 F1610 61 sea'r'ii ...IIIIIIIIII'75/ i'7'7',"i7 461 463 rivets or SP0t Welding to Produce bending Slots 72 479 457; 1 13 56; 29 243-5, 3 l the walls of which along the two sides of each slot vary l l 3/ in width. The tool thus has the facility of producing a short or a long flange from an edge of a piece of work [56 1 References Cited with said flange having any selected one of four UNITED STATES PATENTS 438,413 10/1890 Groves 72 457 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figulfl I F W T 26L. 0 4 O 14 15 g L WQ H9 39d 16 g 15.9

BENCH TOOL FOR SHEET METAL BENDING SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Sheet metal bending brakes are available in a wide variety of costs and sizes but the least expensive of these is too costly for simple bench operations at home or in the small service shop.

It is a prime object of the present invention to provide a relatively small, inexpensive tool for bench use in bending sheet metal.

Another object is to provide such a tool which will facilitate accurately producing short or long flanges of any of a variety of four of the more commonly used flange widths.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side edge view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end edge view of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention includes a rectangular top plate 11, a rectangular bottom plate 12 and a rectangular spacer plate 13, these plates being secured together in flat overlapping parallel relation as by ten rivets 14 or optionally, if desired, by welding.

The spacer plate 13 is preferably 3/32 inch thick, 1V2 inches wide and I6 A inches long.

The top plate 11 is preferably 3/l6 inch thick, 3 A inches wide and 18 A inches long.

The bottom plate 12 is preferably 3/16 inch thick, 3 /2 inches wide and I8 inches long.

All three plates are preferably made of mild steel with the edges sheared or sawed square.

When permanently secured together in overlapping relation as shown in the drawings, these plates produce four bending slots A, B, C and D along the four edges of tool 10 each of which slots has two side walls differing thus in width:

Slot A has short side walls and 16, the widths of said side walls being respectively /2 and 1 inch;

Slot B has long side walls 17 and 18, the widths of which side walls being respectively /2 and 1 inch;

Slot C has short side walls 19 and 20, the widths of which side walls are respectively A and l /2 inches; and

Slot D has long side walls 21 and 22, the widths of which side walls are respectively and l /2 inches.

OPERATION As shown in FIG. 2 in broken lines, a short rectangular piece of sheet metal work W may be inserted while flat in slot A flush against the spacer plate 13 and while so held bent over wall 15 to form a /2 inch flange thereon. A similar short flat piece of sheet metal work W may be inserted in the same manner in slot A, and while being held therein, may be bent over wall 16 to form a l inch flange thereon.

As also shown in FIG. 2 in broken lines, a short rectangular piece of sheet metal work W may be inserted in slot C snuggly against the spacer plate 13 and while being held therein bent over wall 19 to form a inch flange thereon. Alternatively, a short piece of work W when in flat condition, may be inserted in slot C and while held therein snuggly against the spacer plate 13,

may be bent over wall 20 to form a l inch flange thereon.

FIG. 3 illustrates in broken lines how slots B and D may be employed to bend flanges along the edges of relatively long pieces of work. For instance, a long piece of sheet metal work W may be inserted in slot B and bent over wall 17 to form a /2 inch flange thereon. Alternatively, a long piece of work W may be inserted in slot B and bent over wall 18 to form a 1 inch flange thereon.

As also shown in FIG. 3 at the opposite end of tool 10 in broken lines, a long piece of sheet metal work W may be inserted in slot D and bent over wall 21 to form a A inch flange therein while, alternatively, a long piece of work W may be inserted in the same slot and bent over wall 22 to form a 1 /2 inch flange thereon.

Described above are the simpler, more commonly re quired bending operations which the tool 10 easily performs. With a modicum of skill, at large variety of more complex bending jobs can be performed with this tool.

While certain specific dimensions have been given in describing the invention as preferable, it is to be understood that these may be varied to enable the tool 10 to be best adapted to bending pieces of work varying substantially in thickness and also vary the flange widths normally produced by use of the invention as above described.

I claim:

I. A bench tool for sheet metal bending, said tool comprising:

a rectangular flat steel top plate approximately 3/ l 6 inch thick;

a rectangular flat steel bottom plate approximately 3/16 inch thick;

a rectangular flat steel spacer plate about 3/32 inch thick;

means for uniting said plates in parallel overlapping relation to form a peripheral series of sheet metal bending slots extending in a single plane entirely around the periphery of said tool, the bottom of each of which slots is formed by an edge of said spacer plate, the side walls of each bending slot being of unequal width and being formed by parallel peripheral portions of said top and bottom plates, and wherein two relatively short bending slots are provided on the ends of said tool and two relatively long bending slots are provided on the sides thereof, and wherein the side walls of the short bending slot at one end of the tool differ in width from the side walls of the slot at the other end of the tool, and wherein the side walls of one of said short bending slots correspond respectively in width to the side walls of one of said long bending slots, while the side walls of the other of said short bending slots correspond respectively in width to the side walls of the other of said long bending slots.

2. A bench tool for sheet metal bending as recited in claim 1, wherein the width of said rectangular flat steel spacer plate is approximately equal to the width of the widest of the side walls of said bending slots.

3. A bench tool for sheet metal bending as recited in claim 2, wherein one of said long bending slots has side walls /2 inch wide and 1 inch wide and the other of said long bending slots has side walls which are A inch wide and 1 /2 inches wide. 

1. A bench tool for sheet metal bending, said tool comprising: a rectangular flat steel top plate approximately 3/16 inch thick; a rectangular flat steel bottom plate approximately 3/16 inch thick; a rectangular flat steel spacer plate about 3/32 inch thick; means for uniting said plates in parallel overlapping relation to form a peripheral series of sheet metal bending slots extending in a single plane entirely around the periphery of said tool, the bottom of each of which slots is formed by an edge of said spacer plate, the side walls of each bending slot being of unequal width and being formed by parallel peripheral portions of said top and bottom plates, and wherein two relatively short bending slots are provided on the ends of said tool and two relatively long bending slots are provided on the sides thereof, and wherein the side walls of the short bending slot at one end of the tool differ in width from the side walls of the slot at the other end of the tool, and wherein the side walls of one of said short bending slots correspond respectively in width to the side walls of one of said long bending slots, while the side walls of the other of said short bending slots correspond respectively in width to the side walls of the other of said long bending slots.
 2. A bench tool for sheet metal bending as recited in claim 1, wherein the width of said rectangular flat steel spacer plate is approximately equal to the width of the widest of the side walls of said bending slots.
 3. A bench tool for sheet metal bending as recited in claim 2, wherein one of said long bending slots has side walls 1/2 inch wide and 1 inch wide and the other of said long bending slots has side walls which are 3/4 inch wide and 1 1/2 inches wide. 